Steam boiler



Jan. 2, 1934. A. HUET I 1,941,686

STEAM BOILER Filed April 23, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 2, 1934. i A. HUET 1,941,686

STEAM BOILER Filed April 23, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CUM Patented Jan. 2, 1934 PATENT; OFFICE STEAM BOILER Andr Huet, Paris, France, assignor to The superheater Company, New York, N. Y.

Application April 23, 1931, Serial No. 532,229, and in France April 29, 1930 2 Claims.

The present invention has for its object a process for the production of steam which consists essentially in utilizing a mass of steam travelling along a circuit where it suffers variations of temperature and of rate of flow at definite points along .its path, the feed water being atomized in the mass of steam at a suitably selected place and the steam used being taken.

out at a suitable point of this circuit.

. The invention comprises also a manner of carrying out this process according to which the mass of steam is, after being superheated, sent partly to the places where it is used, the other portion continuing to travel along a closed cir- 5, cuit in which the feed takes place by introducing water in the atomized state and finally a boiler with instantaneous vaporization and rapid rise of pressure, allowing to carry out this process in the manner indicated.

The arrangement, object of the present invention, has among other advantages that of an instantaneous vaporization and, consequently, of an extremely rapid bringing of the boiler in operation, without it being necessary to bring 251a large volume of water first to the temperature of vaporization or to a temperature near the latter; the vaporization is extremely rapid and so to speak instantaneous, first because of the fact that the atomization of the water creates '30 ibetween the latter and the heating fluid very considerable surfaces of contact and also because the particles of water strike the particles of steam at a very high speed, the limiting speed being reached only after a time suificiently long 35. Owing to the fact that the mass of the particles of water is great with respect to that of the particles of steam; besides the vaporization of water taking place practically without contact with the metallic parts of the boiler, no furring takes place, but only dusts in suspension in the steam and easily removed, for example by inserting a dust extractor of any known type in the circuit along which the steam travels.

The following description with reference to 5 the appended drawings, given as an example, will cause the manner in which the invention can be carried out to be well understood.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 represent diagrammatically three alternative constructions of steam genverators in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 4 refers to a detail of Fig. 3.

In Fig. 1, a container or drum 1 constitutes the body of the boiler, from which the steam is extracted through the pipe 2 by a pump 3 to be sent in a superheater 4 and in a pipe 5 following it; as it comes out of the pipe 5, the superheated steam is led partly by the pipe 6 towards the places where it is used, while another portion passes by the pipes '7 and 8 in the drum 1.

A feed pump 9 forces the feed water by a pipe 10 in an atomizing pipe 11 from which the water escapes in the atomized state and is immediately vaporized under the action of the superheated steam led by 8 in the drum 1.

I In the case of Fig. 2, the parts of the .boiler corresponding to parts of the Fig. 1 have the same reference numbers; in this variation of the invention the superheater 13 is placed below the drum and the steam is led to it from the drum by the 70. pipe 12 which continues the pipe 2.

The outlet from the superheater 13 is connected on the one hand to the upper portion of the drum 1 by the pipes 14 and 16, and on the other hand to the places where the steam is used, by a pipe 15.

The superheated steam which is circulated in the superheater 13 and the passages 14 and 16 being sensibly less dense than the steam at a lower temperature which fills the pipe 2 and 12, there will take place in these different parts, owing to this difference of density, a continuous circulation in the direction of the pipes 2 and 12, superheater 13, pipes 14 and 16 and drum 1, independently of the static pressure in the drum 1.

It is seen that in the case of Fig. 2, the feed pump 9 forces the feed water by the pipe 10 and the atomizing pipe 11 at the bottom of the drum 1, while in Fig. 1 this forcing took place at the upper portion of the drum; more generally, it must be understood that the admission of the feed water may be made at any place in the boiler without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the case of Fig. 3, of which Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically a detail on a larger scale, there is no drum and the feed water brought by the pipe 10 is injected into the circulation tube 17 by means of an atomizing nozzle 18 which produces at the same time the atomization of this water and the movement of circulation of the steam and of the atomized water in the direction indicated by the arrows 24, which renders unnecessary the presence of a steam circulation pump, or the arrangement of the superheater below the other parts.

A dust collector 22 is shown in Fig. 3 in the lower horizontal run of pipe 17. Dust collector 22 is shown as having a downward extension 23 for temporarily storing dust separated from the steam prior to its removal from the separator. However, I do not limit myself to any particular type of dust separator. Such a dust separator may be installed whenever desired in pipe 7 of the arrangement illustrated in Fig. l and in pipe 17 of the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2.

It is therefore evident that the feed water may be the condensation water brought back from the places where the superheated steam is; used, after the latter has done its work and has been condensed; in this case, a continuous cycle will be obtained and the same water will be used over and over again, the fresh feed water being lim-- ited to the compensation of the losses which may eventually take place by blowing off, leaks or other accidental causes.

It is also evident that the arrangements shown on the drawing are only given as example and may be changed at will without departing from the scope of the invention; for example, the points 2 where the steam is taken off and the points where the steam from the superheater is re-admitted in the drum maybe arranged at any places of the latter, and the suction and force pump of the steam may be placed at any place of the circuit, or. omitted if the circumstances allow it.

The starting can take place as soon as a small volume of steam has been introduced in the boiler; this steam may come from a boiler near by, already in operation, or from any source of steam; this steam can also be produced by utilizing the boiler itself object of the invention inthe following manner in the case of Fig. 1, the passage through pipe 2-bctwe'en the pump 3'and. the drum 1 is first closed, for example by means of a valve not shown, and a small quantity of water is injected in the superheater 4, this superheater is then first used as a steam generator, the steam so produced proceeding by pipes 5, 7 and 8 in the drum 1, the. circulation circuit of the steam through the drum, the pump and the superheater are then opened and feed water is admitted to the atomizing device 11 as soon as the circulating steam has reached a sufficient temperature, which will need an extremely short time, considering the small mass of this circulating steam.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for producing steam which comprises a closed circuit having downcomer and riser portions and an outlet, a superheater in said riser portion, and means for injecting water into said circuit at a point such that the vapor in said downcomer portion will have normally a greater density than that in said riser portion to assist circulation in the circuit.

2. A process for producing steam which comprises circulating water vapor upward and down-- ward. in a closed path; superheating said vaporat' such a point in said path that it is insuperheated. condition substantially throughout its upward movement, injecting finely divided water" into said vapor at such a point in said path that the vapor is in saturated condition substantially throughout its downward movement in said path, and drawing on superheated vapor from said path for use.

Arman HUB-r. 

